veleno

Hi Guys,

I'm looking at a '76 912E with 156k. The motor is out due to the owner putting a VW engine in there but he sold the VW engine and that's where the car is at right now. The stock motor is on the side and he said it runs but felt "tired" and just wasn't enough "go" for him.

I looked over the car and it seems to be in fair-good condition, nothing too bad. There are things I need to fix or replace in the interior but the body, floor pan, and chassis look to be solid with no visible rust. Electrical appears to be working (windows, sunroof, lights, a/c blower fan). The chrome around the windows and door handle as still good.

It was painted a little over a year ago and the finish is still pretty good.

Overall the car looks to be in good shape physically and electronically, I just don't know mechanically what it's like. He sold the carbs that were on the stock motor but said he has another carb that he can install on the motor to get it running so I can drive it. In addition, he mentioned that the stock motor had some headers but they were rusting so he may have gotten rid of them but he'll look around the shop.

He doesn't have any service records and has only owned it for about 3 years.

Now for the questions.

1. The seller is asking 12k obo (without the motor installed) but I'm going to start my offer at 7k and try to get him to install the stock motor to see how it runs/drives. I'm willing to go up to 10k if it runs/drives good. What do you think of my pricing and/or what would be a fair price for this car, with/without engine installed?

2. Would the car be better off with another engine installed (maybe from an sc or any other model)? If yes, which model and what should I expect to pay for that motor? It won't be a daily driver but I want it reliable when I do drive it.

3. Are there any issues with this model that I should be aware of or things that I should know before purchasing this car?

Thanks in advance for any advice, feedback, or suggestions.

VWLooseNuts

10k for a running driving 912E with correct motor and that appears from the pics in good shape is about price.

KevinGross

You'll get different opinions, and a lot will depend on your personal goals for the car. For me, and this is just me, much of the value of any forty-year-old car is in its originality. So I would definitely favor returning to its correct engine and getting rid of all the non-original gorp the car has accumulated, like that nastiness on the rear grill.

Rather than dickering with the current owner to reinstall the engine, which he may or may not be skilled to do properly, I would recommend that you find an experienced mechanic and start building a relationship. You'll need his/her services as the project progresses, and you should absolutely have him do a pre-purchase inspection before you open your wallet. You don't need to own a car that looks like from on top but has terminal rot in areas closer to the ground, for example. I see that happen a lot, it never ends well.

In tandem with this, you need a financial plan. It should include:

• Purchase price -- basically what the seller needs to let you bring a trailer and haul away the chassis, motor, other spares
• Immediate must-do fixes - would include getting the motor installed and running, getting the car safely and legally back on the road
• Near-term items - those needing attention next, say in the six to twelve month time frame
• Long-term items - things that will have to be addressed sooner or later, eg, attention to the engine, clutch, or transmission

This is a good basic approach to a budget as well as expectations for the car. It's a vintage car, and in my opinion getting ten to twenty horsepower more out of it by installing some random VW engine isn't going to make you happy and isn't going to win any stop light drag races against a kid in a late-model Honda. Good luck with the project!